DEAR EDUCATOR:
On November 16, the epic story Beowulf comes to life in theaters everywhere. With its cutting-edge special effects and
star-powered cast, the film presents an excellent opportunity for you to introduce your students to a literary classic. This
study guide, brought to you by Young Minds Inspired (YMI), in partnership with Paramount Pictures and Shangri-La
Entertainment, is designed to help your students explore the background, characters, and themes of this timeless story
now told onscreen.
Set in the legendary Age of Heroes, Beowulf is the tale of a warrior who sails to Northern Denmark to save King
Hrothgar and his people from the darkness brought upon them by the ferocious demon Grendel. But when Beowulf
slays Grendel, it provokes the vengeful fury of the beast’s mother, and as the struggle between man and beast
continues, a web of loyalties and betrayals is revealed.
This free educational program for high school and college students can help you draw students into an epic that
has been passed down for centuries through oral storytelling, written verse, and now film.
Please share these materials with other teachers, and return the enclosed reply card. Although
the materials are copyrighted, you may make copies for educational purposes. We welcome your comments and suggestions.
Sincerely,
Dr. Dominic Kinsley
Editor in Chief
PROGRAM OBJECTIVES
• To familiarize students with the main
characters and story of Beowulf.
• To explore the concept of heroism in
Beowulf and modern society.
• To analyze the characteristics and role of
monsters in Beowulf and popular culture.
STANDARDS ALIGNMENT
This program aligns with National Standards
in English for grades 9-12 (for details see
www.ymiteacher.com/beowulfstandards.pdf).
HOW TO USE THIS PROGRAM
Display the wall poster to introduce the
program and generate student interest.
Review, photocopy, and distribute a set of the
reproducible activity sheets to each student.
ACTIVITY ONE
EPIC LIVES
This activity focuses on the characters in
the film Beowulf, helping students
understand their relationships and
motivations. As a class, read and discuss
the character profiles on the activity sheet,
then have students research one character
using online or library resources to create a
more in-depth profile. After viewing
Beowulf in the theater, have students
compare their profiles to how the
character was portrayed in the film.
College Extension: Like many epics,
Beowulf is rooted in family dynamics,
relationships, and rivalries. Have students
explore this side of the story by comparing
Beowulf to some of its cousins in the epic
tradition: The Odyssey, The Aeneid, Morte
D’Arthur, etc. Continue this class discussion
after seeing Beowulf in the theater.
ACTIVITY TWO
THE AGE OF HEROES
This activity examines the theme of heroism
in Beowulf. As a class, review the chart
outlining the concept of heroism in
Beowulf’s time, then have students fill in
the second half of the chart with their own
definition of what it means to be a hero.
Compare and explore the basis of students’
ideas about heroism in a class discussion.
Continue this discussion after students have
seen Beowulf in the theater.
College Extension: In the ancient world of
Beowulf, heroism was defined primarily by
feats of war. Have students explore this
violent strand in the character of epic
heroes like Beowulf and consider how the
portrayal of such heroes helped societies
integrate this dangerous current into
civilized life. After seeing Beowulf in the
theater, have students reflect on how this
21st century portrayal of a warrior hero
serves the same purpose for today’s society.
ACTIVITY THREE
MONSTERS: A CASE STUDY
This activity takes Beowulf as a starting
place for students to explore society’s view
of monsters throughout history. As a class,
have students brainstorm a list of monsters,
real and fictional. Using the analysis of
Grendel on the activity sheet as a model,
have students conduct a case study about a
monster of their choice. Then have students
present their case studies and rate the
monsters on a scale of 1-10 (1 being the
least horrific and 10 being the most
terrifying).
College Extension: While usually
terrifying, monsters can also be comical,
especially when deployed in the service of
satire, like Gargantua and the giants in
Gulliver’s Travels. Working from this
perspective, challenge students to examine
the comic potential in monsters like
Grendel and experiment with this subtext
of the epic tradition by creating their own
mock-heroic parodies.
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©2007 YMI, Inc. Created for Paramount Pictures. Copyright ©2007 by Paramount Pictures and Shangri-La Entertainment, LLC. All Rights Reserved. IMAX®3D is a registered trademark of IMAX Corporation.
REPRODUCIBLE MASTER
ACTIVITY ONE
EPIC LIVES
The new film Beowulf, coming to theaters this November, retells an ancient tale of
loyalty, horror, heroism, and betrayal. Based on the oldest epic poem in English,
written more than one thousand years ago, the film brings to life the legend of
Beowulf, a celebrated Scandinavian warrior and king. True to the epic tradition, Beowulf is full of larger-than-life
characters and takes a number of unexpected twists and turns.
Prepare to enter the world of Beowulf by tracing the relationships among the characters who live this story. Use the
profiles below to create a web-chart showing Beowulf’s connection to the other characters in his story. Then select
one character and create an in-depth portrait of his or her chief traits, motives, and loyalties, using online or library
resources. After you have seen Beowulf in the theater, compare your portrait with the character’s portrayal in the film.
BEOWULF
HROTHGAR
WEALTHOW
WIGLAF
Ray Winstone
Anthony Hopkins
Robin Wright Penn
Brendan Gleeson
Son of Edgethow, a renowned
warrior from Geatland, Beowulf
journeys to Northern Denmark
to defeat the infamous monster
Grendel. Beowulf’s reputation
for bravery and fierce fighting
precedes him, and King
Hrothgar embraces him as the
son he never had.
King of Denmark, Hrothgar is
an elderly, boastful, and
lecherous man (not considered
faults in his day) who loves his
people and shares his wealth
among them. Yet he carries the
burden of a childless
marriage—and a secret curse.
Hrothgar’s Queen, she and
Beowulf are drawn to one
another when he arrives, but
her passion cools as events
unfold. She is a woman
betrayed by the men in her life.
Wiglaf, Beowulf’s faithful
countryman, adviser, and
closest friend, bears witness to
Beowulf’s victories and refuses
to see any of his flaws.
UNFERTH
John Malkovich
GRENDEL
GRENDEL’S MOTHER
THE DRAGON
Crispin Glover
Angelina Jolie
Greg Ellis
As Hrothgar’s royal adviser,
Unferth disguises his distaste
for the King. When Beowulf
arrives, Unferth regards him first
with jealousy, then gratitude,
followed by suspicion.
Half man, half monster, Grendel
is a fearsome but pitiful
creature with the supernatural
strength to destroy the bravest
of men.
Nameless, this seductive
creature has the power to lure
men, tempting them with
promises of wealth, power, and
fame.
Portrayed as a delicate, golden
young man whose anger and
hatred transform him into a
terrifying, fire-wielding monster,
the dragon proves Beowulf’s
most implacable foe.
©2007 YMI, Inc. Created for Paramount Pictures. Copyright ©2007 by Paramount Pictures and Shangri-La Entertainment, LLC. All Rights Reserved. IMAX®3D is a registered trademark of IMAX Corporation.
REPRODUCIBLE MASTER
ACTIVITY TWO
THE AGE OF HEROES
The new film Beowulf, coming to theaters in November, takes
place during The Age of Heroes, a time of ferocious monsters and
fierce warriors. Heroes toasted victory in the mead hall, named for
the drink that fueled their courage, and pledged loyalty to their king,
believing that death in battle was the only honorable way to die. Life
has changed over the centuries that separate us from this heroic age, yet
heroes remain as important as ever in the modern world.
How does our concept of heroism compare to the heroic ideal embodied in Beowulf? The chart below provides
an outline of Beowulf’s heroic characteristics. Complete the chart by describing the parallel characteristics of a
modern hero, real or fictitious. Then share your view of the modern hero in a class discussion. How does our view
of what makes a hero differ from that of the heroic age? Which traits of a hero have remained consistent across
the centuries? Continue this discussion after you have seen Beowulf in the theater, focusing on how the film
makes its ancient hero still seem heroic in our eyes.
HEROISM IN THE AGE OF HEROES
Hero
Beowulf
Physical Attributes
Strong and agile
Intellect
Clever
Responsibilities
Beholden to king and fellow countrymen;
required to share spoils of battle;
expected to return favors and honor oaths
(blood debt)
Motivation
Recognition and reward; loyalty to king
and countrymen
Personal Relationships
Primarily companions in battle
Ethics
Honor oaths
Fears and Disappointments
A dishonorable death, lack of an heir
Recognition
Immortality through song and story,
wealth, women
Other Characteristics
Young, male
HEROISM IN OUR TIMES
©2007 YMI, Inc. Created for Paramount Pictures. Copyright ©2007 by Paramount Pictures and Shangri-La Entertainment, LLC. All Rights Reserved. IMAX®3D is a registered trademark of IMAX Corporation.
REPRODUCIBLE MASTER
ACTIVITY THREE
MONSTERS: A CASE STUDY
Since time immemorial,
monsters have captivated
and horrified humankind.
The new film Beowulf, coming to theaters this November, tells of a monster who terrified an Anglo-Saxon kingdom in
the 8th century. Has society’s view of monsters changed all that much over the last 1,200 years?
As a class, brainstorm a list of all the monsters you know of, real and fictional,
who have rampaged through the ages—the Cyclops who threatened
Ulysses, the dragons who scorched knights in medieval times, the science
fiction monsters we imagine today. Then select one monster to study in
depth, using online resources, and record your findings in the spaces
provided. Use this case study of Grendel, the monster in Beowulf, as a
model for your analysis. Then, after you have seen the film, compare this
modern portrayal of an ancient monster to other monsters you know.
MONSTERS OVER THE AGES
Name
Grendel
Origin
son of King Hrothgar and a succubus, a
woman mostly human in appearance but with
demonic characteristics
Home
a dark cave littered with bleached bones and
rotting carcasses with a black pool teeming
with moray eels
Appearance
Special Powers
Weaknesses
large, hairless, misshapen body covered with
scars, scabs, and open sores; eyes flecked with
gold; exposed eardrum membranes;
retractable claws; nearly impenetrable skin
extraordinary strength, speed, and agility;
ability to vault across great distances
loud noises, especially the sounds of
celebration coming from Hrothgar’s palace,
cause him excruciating pain and drive him into
a fury; not intelligent; emotionally sensitive
Motivation
wants to stop the noise of Hrothgar’s
celebration; enjoys tormenting his victims
Friends/Family
loving mother, “pet” moray eels
Why Feared
dismembers and devours heroes in their sleep
Fate
looses his arm in a clash with Beowulf and
runs back to his cave to die
©2007 YMI, Inc. Created for Paramount Pictures. Copyright ©2007 by Paramount Pictures and Shangri-La Entertainment, LLC. All Rights Reserved. IMAX®3D is a registered trademark of IMAX Corporation.